Archaebacteria on China’s space station will explore origin of methane gas on Mars

https://www.163.com/dy/article/IOQP32PA05535RE3.html

Anaerobic archaea will be sent by “Tianzhou 7” to the Chinese space station to test whether they can survive in an environment simulating Mars and the extremes of space radiation. This will help solve the question whether extraterrestrial life exists. Liu Zhu, professor of the Department of Earth Systematic Science at Tsinghua University, has selected anaerobic archaea, and will conduct experiments under the platform’s space radiation exposure conditions, in microgravity, and in an extreme environment  to test whether early life on Earth can survive. If methanogenic archaea can survive in this environment, produce methane gas, and grow successfully, it has been demonstrated that primitive life forms on Earth can survive and grow in an extraterrestrial environment. If so, it would provide clues that methane gas detected on Mars is derived from life, and that this life form could have the same origin as life on Earth.

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